Business moves fast. Competing strengths to entice advertisers or sponsorships is something that has to be done. VIVA Group, specifically ANTV, is walking tall today. But what else can be done to maintain their business stamina and ensure they will never fall?

The hall of Ciputra Artpreneur was filled by hundreds of people that night (6/12/2017). Hundreds of people from various ad agencies, business partners and ANTV employees filled the room. This was one of the important moments that ANTV could not miss to “sell themselves” in front of their advertisers.

In front of these hundreds of people, Anindya Novyan Bakrie, ANTV’s President Commissioner that also serves as President Director for Viva Group, convinces the crowd that the television industry will be even more interesting in the year 2018. New programs will be brought to the Indonesian public. Furthermore, there are a few other big agendas that will invigorate the local business, such as Asian Games, Gubernatorial Election, and others in 2018.

So far, TV still remains as an attractive medium for advertisers in Indonesia. According to Nielsen Indonesia information, the main contributor for the growth of ad expenditure is still TV media that contributed 80% of the total advertising expenditure.

“The total advertising expenditure in television that we reported so far only take into account ads that run during commercial break. Meanwhile, there are other forms of TV ads that are not reported and is still unquantifiable,” Explained Helen Katherina, the Executive Director, Head of Media Business for Nielsen Indonesia.

That means, the value of ads and non-ads that become the income for media companies including that of VIVA Group, will be even higher. Take for example ANTV that has held many events in various regions to bring together the TV idols with the public, as well as socializing their programs. There are many sponsors that are ready to jump into the crowd that ANTV has gathered.

According to Anindya Bakrie, ANTV is not just a broadcasting company, but a family company that focuses on content, talent management and event organizer. The identity of this company is clear now, including their bargaining power and business value.

The journey to reaching this triumphant point was not simple. Just imagine, about 15 years ago, they were still the lowest rated television station. Otis Hahyari, ANTV’s Vice President Director, stated that from 2013 to 2017 was their process in getting to first tier.

There were two principles that they held on to in the journey to get to where they are now. The first, was that television makes Indonesian families happy. In whatever era, this company has to be able to provide happiness or entertainment across generations. The second, was that every step taken has to be “win-win”. All parties are benefited, the company is happy, as well as the vendors, actors, production houses, advertisers, and advertising agencies.

The year 2018 is ready to be met with optimism. Otis stated that they have already prepared various programs for 2018. The programs that they will broadcast, are among others animations from Russia, Romania, Pakistan and France, localized for the audience. Aside from those, they also already have truly local programs.

As a creative-based business, it’s not enough just to get to this current position. Especially, the public dynamic is moving so fast in this digital era. The company must be able to read the condition and see the future of what the public needs. Therefore, innovation is key. Innovation is the DNA, according to Otis.

As the leader of VIVA Group, Anin must be able to ensure that his business will still be victorious in the future. Reading the data and phenomenon, online to offline (O2O) will be the future of this group. “We have to think O2O, that’s where the money is,” Anin said.

He gave the example of when the meet and greet with the actors were held, the experience was immeasurable to that of simply watching on television. Live experience cannot be replaced by film, soap opera, or others. This can’t be done by all the competitors. Just imagine, this meet and greet program can gather up to 30 thousand people. For the advertisers, this instrument has become a very effective path to connect with their target market.

One of the programs of this group that reflects the O2O paradigm is One Pride. In searching for Mix Martial Arts (MMA) fighters in Indonesia, the company has to go to every region of the country. The same goes when they’re choosing the MMA fighters, they have to watch their matches live on location. This Group also doesn’t close its doors on one day developing a sports-oriented channel.

Furthermore, this group refers to Walt Disney as the company to model themselves after. They own several TV stations with various segments, but their O2O continues to run because they own a theme park.

Aside from that, there are a few things that business players cannot underestimate. Herman kartajaya, marketing expert, states 4 intimidating things in a business, among which are volatility in change, uncentainly in competitor, complexity in customers, and ambiguity in company.